


Radical Notion

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Regency, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-13
Updated: 2014-05-13
Packaged: 2018-01-24 13:49:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1607414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lady Ariadne Volute is affianced to Arthur de Pointe to satisfy debts her brother had accumulated. While she is against this idea, Arthur finds himself drawn to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Radical Notion

Lady Ariadne Volute was upset, though her expression remained serene as she took in the flow of conversation around her. Somehow, her older brother had managed to squander not only her dowry but the entire family's fortune. Instead of owning up to it, he had gone to a gaming hell in order to try to recoup the losses. That only sent him further into debt, until finally even he had to admit that all was lost. They were paupers now, and only the purchaser of his debts had the power to make or break their family.

And right now, he was proposing to dissolve the debts if they gave Ariadne to him in marriage.

Her father was close to hysterical, but saw this man's proposal as the perfect way to relieve the family of the awful debts her brother had accrued and avoid the disastrous scandal that would result if it was known. She had never been to London, never had a formal debut. Ariadne didn't know if it was really all that dire, but her mother had always been overly concerned with the opinions of others.

"We'll come up with a good enough story regarding the match for the village, of course," Ariadne's father was saying. "Or else any respectable girl would never look twice at our family, thinking her prospects are spoiled."

"Aren't they?" Ariadne said, bitterness lacing her tone. "Why else would you seriously consider grafting a _nobody_ onto our family tree? Why else arrange this marriage to avoid scandal. We're already ruined, no one else knows it yet."

"With your marriage our future is secure. We're not ruined!" her father said, sounding besieged.

Oh, it wasn't fair, she knew it wasn't, but Ariadne wasn't in the mood to be charitable toward him at the moment. "You've always favored that wastrel and ignored me just because of my sex," she threw at her father, lips curled in derision as she jumped to her feet. "Now you reap what you sow, Father. Now you'll have nothing left but a lie."

Rather than flouncing out of the drawing room, Ariadne strode out with her head held high, ignoring his pleading. She was the one that would have to live with this marriage, not him. She would have to figure out a way to make it through.

***

Arthur de Pointe was rather successful at business and investments, as well as a steady hand at cards. Though he might not have been gently born and bred the way most of his associates were, the color of his money was readily accepted even if the color of his blood was in question. Marrying into an old, historied family would remedy that, though few were willing to overlook the fact that he was in trade. It had been mere luck that put him in Lord Volute's orbit in the gaming hells, though he had tried to get the man to slow his drinking and betting. He did try to chastise him when he mentioned his sister's dowry, but Lord Volute had been unmoved to the last, determined to win back his lost markers.

He knew nothing about Lady Ariadne other than her brother's dissolute nature and her noble born status, but discovering her existence was like a godsend. He needed a noble wife to enter High Society, and she would need her brother's debts cleared. Arthur had money to spare, and could even settle a small annuity on Lord Volute or teach him trade if he was so inclined. It was the sort of thing that they would likely see as scandalous, but it was an arrangement that would suit all of their needs nicely.

Meeting Lady Ariadne the first time, however, created a development he hadn't anticipated. She was beautiful, with graceful features and a forthright air he found refreshing. While she appeared delicate due to her petite frame and large, golden eyes, Arthur could sense a strength of character that her brother lacked. And perhaps her father, given the fact he seized upon Arthur's suggested arrangement immediately, not requesting time to think on it or find other means to recoup the family fortunes. Lady Ariadne held her head high, a determined cast to her features, and Arthur immediately felt a spike of longing and want run through him.

Bowing deeply before Lady Ariadne in their family parlor, he graced her with a charming smile. "My lady. I do appreciate the suddenness of the match."

"There were few alternatives to choose from," she replied, a shade too tartly for politeness' sake. Her father glared at her, and her brother looked decidedly ill.

"No, perhaps there were not," Arthur allowed. No sisters or mother that he could see, not even a lady's maid, nurse or governess. Apparently the family had fallen on dire straits indeed, even prior to his arrival in their orbit. "But I do believe we can make the best of the situation."

"I fail to see how we would suit," Ariadne replied, eyebrow arched. Her father sputtered in anger, and Ariadne turned to him with an arch look. "You need to tell him, Father. If you don't, then I will."

"I will not allow you to spurn this offer," her father growled, taking a step forward in an almost menacing manner. "This is the last chance for our family—"

"Perhaps if Lady Ariadne and I conversed," Arthur interjected smoothly. Sudden violence was not a good sign. He hadn't expected the arrangement to be a happy one, but he hadn't anticipated this much dissension in the household. "Then we can see if she and I truly suit or not."

Ariadne looked as though she would much rather consume rancid meat, but deftly sidestepped her father. "There is a small park," she announced. "It is not so private as to be unseemly."

"This is your affianced!" her father boomed.

"This remains to be seen," she replied sweetly, and Arthur found himself smirking in approval. He never did like the mealy-mouthed simpering idiots parading about the marriage mart. This might be a match that could actually work.

The park around the household was well kept, revising Arthur's opinion as to the staff that the Volute family held on retainer. Ariadne was stiffly formal as they walked along the paths of the garden, not responding to the compliments he paid to the grounds. She seemed to thaw a little when Arthur commented on the hedge maze, and almost reluctantly admitted to designing and planting it herself. "Pay attention to the flowers in the park," Ariadne told him.

It took a moment for him to realize it, and once he did, Arthur grinned widely at her. "Clever. Very, very clever, indeed. There are mazes within mazes here. I’ll wager you're quite learned, aren't you, Lady Ariadne?"

She stilled, then looked at him with an icy expression. "Is that a problem, de Pointe?"

He repressed the urge to laugh out loud. "The way your father behaves, I rather doubt that he obtained a proper tutor for you. And for such a subtle maze, you would have to be quite learned in mathematics and the sciences." He gave her a winsome smile, though she didn't seem to believe his sincerity just yet. "An autodidact, are you?"

"Oh? And what are your views on that?" she asked coolly.

"That your mind is quite facile," he assured her. "To be so adept with the sciences and mathematics, you must be quite fluent in Greek, Latin and French. Perhaps German, though most feel that their philosophies don't suit English soil very well. I myself would not assume such things unless I read the texts myself."

"Are _you_ a learned man, then?"

"Self made," Arthur replied. "Whether learned or lucky remains to be seen."

"How so?"

"There are those who feel accountancy is a fabricated art, and that trade is barbaric. Yet the world functions best when those arenas work smoothly, when ideas are allowed to flourish and grow unfettered." Arthur smiled warmly at her. "So few appreciate the artistry that can arise from mathematics, but I see that you do. The geometry in the mazes is exquisite."

It was an honest compliment paid, and Arthur could see the slight flush that was starting to rise in her cheeks. Perhaps no one had complimented her intelligence before. That was quite a shame. The simpering girls on the marriage mart had no thoughts in their heads other than fabrics and fashion, and while a vapid, chattering bird wit might be attractive to some, a lady of that sort held little appeal to him. Such a match would have been a means to an end, part of the image he wanted to project of a prosperous man accepted by the Beau Monde. What he really enjoyed was _ideas,_ the discussion and the delving down into them, exploring what layers and nuance could do. He had thought that it would simply be a lonely hobby, but Ariadne apparently shared his enthusiasm for learning.

"You compliment to make this arrangement easier to tolerate," Ariadne said finally. He thought he could hear some doubt in her tone.

"Quite the contrary. I believe that we may suit in this area after all. I am successful enough at business that I don't need to oversee its daily function. This gives me time to follow my pursuit of knowledge. I have quite the library at my estate."

Ariadne stopped walking and looked at him, fingers fluttering slightly. "So what is it that you think would happen? That I would expand my mind with you? Share my innermost thoughts?"

"Perhaps. Should the endeavor prove mutually satisfactory."

"And if I do not?" she asked, chin lifting a fraction in challenge.

Arthur couldn't help but smile widely at her, knowing his cheeks dimpled and that his eyes would flash almost boyishly. "Then I simply must find another passion to share with you."

The faint blush in her cheeks deepened, a rosy color that heightened his appreciation of her countenance. "It is not seemly to say such things."

"You are my betrothed…Should we not understand each other?"

"Understand what? That I am a bluestocking? That I value maths and sciences, and that I read all sorts of shocking texts? I particularly enjoyed learning about human anatomy or reading Ovid's works," she added, as if trying to deliberately shock him.

"I assume your father does not know this."

Now the flush was righteous in nature. "Do you think I need your approval for such things?"

Laughing outright confused her. "I have the feeling that it would not matter if I approved of such scholarly pursuits or not." He leaned in and gave her a conspiratorial smile. "Shall I send you my copy of _Camilla?"_

"I already own it," Ariadne replied, then appeared to regret the hasty words.

He laughed again. "Do you now? I admit, I am intrigued. You have quite an eclectic education, and quite the clever mind. He leaned in further and brushed her lips with a soft kiss. "But understand, Lady Ariadne, I do very much approve."

She didn't strike him, but did push at his chest to create distance between them again. "It is not proper to take such liberties."

"It was worth a shot," Arthur replied with a smile.

Ariadne watched him saunter off, examining her maze with interest. He didn't miss the slight twist to her lips that was almost a smirk. Perhaps she didn't think the arrangement was a terrible one after all. Perhaps even love was possible.

That would be the most worthy conclusion of all.

The End


End file.
